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Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) said that it sold more than 4,750 of its electric Model S sedans during the first quarter. Photo credit: Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)is set to report first-quarter earnings after the market closes on Wednesday. What should we expect?

For starters, we should expect a profit – Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s first ever.

Tesla said (on April Fools’ Day, though it wasn’t a joke) that it had exceeded its first-quarter-sales projections and would report “full profitability” when it presented its official earnings report.

That sent Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s shares soaring. But it raises a question: Where is that profit coming from?

Tesla says strong sales led to its first profitTesla CEO Elon Musk had originally said, back in February, that the company expected to deliver about 4,500 of its Model S sedans during the first quarter. That would be likely enough for a slight profit, if only on an “operating” basis, Musk said at the time.

It’s that guidance that the company bumped up on the first of April. Tesla said that deliveries of the Model S had exceeded 4,750 during the first quarter – and that that would be enough for a righteous no-excuses profit.

It’s true that sales of the Model S have been strong. The car, an all-electric luxury sedan with sleek looks, strong performance, and range comparable to gas-powered cars, has impressed drivers and critics alike.

But compared to a mass-market automaker, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s sales have been tiny. And that raises some questions as to how it has managed to turn a profit so quickly.

At these prices, how is Tesla making money?Tesla has said that expects to sell 20,000 cars in 2013. That sounds like a lot, and for a start-up electric-car company, it is an impressive total.

But for some perspective, consider that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s full-year goal represents about two weeks’ worth of pickup truck sales for Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) or General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) – in a slow month.

Tesla’s scale is obviously a lot smaller than a major vehicle program at Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) or General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), but still: The Model S required considerable up-front investment to develop. Everything from engineering time to factory tooling cost money – in some cases, big money.

In order to thrive, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) needs to recoup that investment and make enough extra to fund development of thenext Tesla model.

And it’s not like Tesla’s prices are outrageous. The Model S isn’t cheap, but its pricing is comparable to similarly equipped luxury cars from BMW or Mercedes-Benz. All things considered, it’s a good value for the money as luxury cars go.

But Tesla even lacks anything like BMW’s economies of scale, meaning that its costs can’t be low. How are they making money on this?